What is most necessary for quickly drying wet objects such as liquid crystal panels or printed circuit boards is to attain positive dewatering and quick drying subsequent to dewatering. A conventional drying apparatus has a dewatering compartment positioned ahead of an ultra drying compartment. The dewatering compartment is equipped with opposed air jet nozzles, which are obliquely directed at the entrance to produce an air component flowing in the counter direction to the direction in which wet objects are transferred, thereby improving the dewatering efficiency and at the same time, preventing invasion of the air from the dewatering compartment to the adjacent ultra drying compartment. In the ultra drying compartment, opposed dry air jet nozzles are arranged perpendicular to the direction in which wet objects are transferred, thus reducing the disturbance in the inner atmosphere to possible minimum, and at the same time, preventing invasion of the surrounding air into the clean ambient atmosphere of the ultra drying compartment (see Patent Document 1)
Another conventional drying apparatus has a drying box in which opposed dry air discharging nozzles are arranged in vertical direction relative to a wet object. The drying box has no opening to communicate with the surrounding air except for its entrance and exit. The entrance or exit is small enough to keep the inner drying space positive in pressure with the dry air blown from the nozzles. When the dry air from the nozzles hits the wet object, the dry air disperses in all directions and flows out from the entrance and exit. Thus, invasion of the surrounding air into the drying box is effectively prevented, keeping the inside of the drying box in predetermined drying condition. Each nozzle is adapted to move from side to side with respect to the vertical position, in which the dry air vertically blows toward the wet object. The drying apparatus has opposed dewatering air slits somewhat inclined in the counter direction opposite to the direction in which a wet object is transferred, thereby making the dry air push the liquid remaining on the wet object backward for dewatering (see Patent Document 2).
Patent Document 1: Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-240435
Patent Document 2: Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-316084